UN announces Ethiopia deal on joint missions to assess Tigray aid needs

The United Nations and Ethiopia have reached a new agreement for joint missions to assess humanitarian needs in the northern region of Tigray, Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced Wednesday.

The deal -- struck a week after an earlier accord proved impossible to implement right away -- will "make sure that there is full access to the whole of the territory and full capacity to start humanitarian operations based on real needs and without any kind of discrimination," Guterres said.

Friction has mounted between Ethiopia's government and the UN over access to Tigray, with alarm growing at the plight of civilians and refugees more than a week since fighting was declared over.

Last week the UN said it had signed an agreement with the Ethiopian government guaranteeing "unconditional access for humanitarian assistance".

In a sign of the tensions over where and how aid agencies can operate in Tigray, a UN team was shot at by Ethiopian forces on Sunday and briefly detained.

Guterres called for "unfettered access of humanitarian assistance, and the swift resumption of the rule of law, in a secure environment and in full respect for human rights, paving the way for a true and lasting reconciliation."

"The most urgent thing at the moment is humanitarian access," said Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chairman of the African Union Commission.

Guterres said there was no proof "of the presence of Eritrean troops inside Ethiopia," after reports emerged to the contrary.

"I confronted the prime minister (from Ethiopia) with that question and he guaranteed to me that they have not entered Tigray," Guterres added.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered troops into Tigray on November 4 following alleged attacks by Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces on federal military camps in the northern region.

The move marked a dramatic escalation of tensions between Abiy and the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before anti-government protests swept Abiy to office in 2018.